Mind Games and Messy Truths — Sometimes I Lie by Alice Feeney

🧠 Twists? ✔️
👀 Suspicion? ✔️
😵‍💫 Unreliable narrator? Oh, absolutely.

If psychological thrillers are your jam, this book will mess with your head in the best way.

A Terrifying Beginning

'Sometimes I Lie' begins with our main protagonist, who is also the narrator, in a coma. She is trapped in her own body—she can hear the voices around her, people talking about her, talking to her, but she can’t respond. She can think, but she can’t move, open her eyes, or do anything. This immediately creates an eerie and claustrophobic atmosphere, pulling the reader into her terrifying predicament. I personally, get affected by such settings quickly so it worked for me well.

Being trapped in your own body is one of everyone's worst nightmares. I mean, we’ve all had those dreams where we are running from something but can’t move, you know? The book captures that same helplessness brilliantly, making it unsettling yet gripping. It was the right amount of disturbing for me.

A Multi-Timeline Narrative

The story is told in three timelines. One is the "Now" timeline, where she is in the coma. Then we have the "Then" timeline, which is a few days before the accident that caused the coma, and the "Before" timeline, which is a few years earlier when she was younger. Many psychological thriller books follow this structure—then, before, now, next—and while it’s effective, it can sometimes feel overused. It can get a little confusing, but I don’t mind that. However, the execution is crucial; if the timelines switch too quickly or aren't well-defined, it becomes frustrating rather than intriguing. Which fortunately wasn't the case for this particular book, as the timelines were distinct.

Adding to the suspense, the narrator strongly suspects that her husband had something to do with the accident that put her in a coma. This uncertainty looms over the story, making every interaction, every flashback, and every revelation feel significant.

A Protagonist with Many Issues

Our main protagonist seems to have a bit of OCD. It’s hinted at in different places throughout the book, but it’s not explored in depth. It felt like an interesting aspect that could have been developed more. On top of that, she’s dealing with mommy issues, daddy issues, sister issues, husband issues—basically, every issue you can think of. She’s about to lose her job, her husband is probably cheating on her, and she doesn’t have a good relationship with her parents or her sister. This overwhelming pile of personal struggles made her a fascinating yet frustrating character.

An Unreliable Narrator and Psychological Twists

The narrator is very unreliable, as is often the case in psychological thrillers, and I really liked that aspect. I love psychological thrillers more than regular thrillers like murder mysteries because they’re all about mind games. You never know what’s real and what’s not, what’s true and what’s false, you just keep guessing. Everything feels murky, and you’re right there with the character, trying to figure it out. This book does that exceptionally well, making you second-guess every detail.

Initially, everything was going fine, and I thought, "Okay, I know what's going on." Then, slowly, the threads started unraveling, and I began questioning everything I was reading. After that, it was twist after twist. I think the first half of the book is pretty good; it makes sense, and you understand what’s happening. But after that, things just keep getting messier and messier. You don’t know what’s real, who to trust, or what to believe. This constant feeling of unease and disorientation was what made the book stand out.

So yeah, that was really fun. The writing is very engaging. The author made sure the readers were hooked from the first page, and I definitely was. I was drawn in from the very beginning, and it was great. Even when the plot felt overwhelming, the writing style kept me invested.

A Weak Foundation

However, I did have one major issue with the book. This whole story happened because our narrator was stuck in a bad situation—but she could have gotten out of it long ago, and very easily. I just couldn’t believe why she would still stay in such a horrible situation and put up with all kinds of nonsense. The premise relied too much on her staying trapped when, realistically, she had options.

The book was great, and the story was good, but the foundation it was built on felt weak and unconvincing. That’s the one thing I disliked about it. The author could have come up with many other reasons that would have made sense for the protagonist to stay in this bad situation, but she didn’t. It felt like a forced plot device rather than a natural progression of events. That was disappointing.

Final Thoughts

Overall, despite its flaws, the book was an engaging read. The psychological depth, the unreliable narrator, and the multiple timelines made it a thrilling experience. The plot twists were jaw dropping and it leaves you with questions long after the book is finished. If you enjoy books that mess with your perception of reality, this one is definitely worth checking out.